Everest the hard way

---

Hello folks. I'm back and in one piece. I completed all three of the high passes. The weather was very clear, but bitterly cold when we were high up. It was so cold that in the morning there was ice inside the tent and the water bottles froze. It was as low as - 15 on one night when we were camping above 5,000 metres. We had some snow, but just enough for good photos, not so much that it slowed progress. My progress at the higher altitude was slow enough anyway, puffing away like a stream train. I managed to climb to the top of Kala Patar for the sunset views of Everest (over 5,500 metres). Our leader, Serena, was the twelfth British woman to climb Everest. She shared her experiences of what it was like and was able to point out all the details like the ice fall, the south col, the yellow band, and the Hilary step. Everest base camp is quite a bleak place and it is difficult to imagine what it must be like climbing up nd down the ice fall. As well as lots of mountains and exercise there were cultural highlights. At Temboche monastery we arrived on the second day of a three day festival. We were very lucky to arrive in time to see the procession of monks with their Tibettan instruments. One of the monks was wearing a traditional mask. There were lots of tourists watching this procession, we had a more intimate experience of the instruments in Thame monastery. again this was a special day and all the monks were gathered in the monastery. They were all chanting from the scrips that are normally stored in boxes on the walls. The Tibettan instruments include cymbals, long trumpets and huge conch shells. Other cultural experiences included a visit to the Edmund Hilary school and hospital. Our Sherpa, porters and cook team looked after us very well and stayed cheerful all the time. The food wasn't the highlight of this trek, but streak tasted so good on the return to Kathmandu. If you ever go to Kathmandu Irecommend eating at Ktoos.

---